


The Flower That Blooms in Winter

by Selah



Category: Gotcharocka, Jrock, Nocturnal Bloodlust, RAZOR (Japan Band)
Genre: Alpha Jui (Gotcharocka), Alpha Ruka (Nightmare), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Beta Masa (Nocturnal Bloodlust), Gen, M/M, Omega Ryoga (BORN), Ruka is Sir Not Appearing In This Film, and if you got that joke have a cookie on me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:34:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29032500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selah/pseuds/Selah
Summary: Life is hard when you're an omega separated from the alpha you love.
Relationships: Jui (Gotcharocka) & Ruka (Nightmare), Ruka (Nightmare)/Ryoga (BORN), Ryoga (BORN) & Masa (Nocturnal Bloodlust)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 5
Collections: VK Yaoi 2021 Challenges





	The Flower That Blooms in Winter

**Author's Note:**

> My entry for this month's VKY amnesty challenge, this was originally started in February of 2020 for the inspired by poetry challenge (inspiration is a set of poems out of a very old Chinese poetry anthology that, uh, probably has no business being in my collection because old paternalistic white dude, in the late 1910s, translating classical Chinese poetry? Is asking for trouble). February ended before I could finish this and then it languished for _months_ in my WiP stack, refusing to be finished. But here it is, finally finished and polished up and ready to go. Which is good because I'm sick of looking at it now. XD

Every time the bell on the door chimed, Ryoga would look up from what he was doing, but of course it was just locals. Winter had barely lifted; it was far too soon for any distant travelers to be appearing in their little back country town. And still he couldn't help looking, hoping. The last visit felt so distant now, the winter too dull without Ruka's cheerful face. He just wanted to see the alpha again. Was that really so strange?

“Honestly, will you stop that?” Masa teased. “You're as jumpy as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.”

“I can't help it,” Ryoga sighed, flopping dramatically onto one of the common room's empty benches. “I miss him!”

“Of course you do,” Masa said, wiping down the table next to him. “But their caravan never gets to our village before the end of sakura blossom season, you _know_ this.”

“I know, I know,” he conceded with a low sigh. “It just feels like it's already been forever and not knowing for sure when I'll be able to see him again is completely miserable.”

“Mm, well, that's what you get for falling in love with a wanderer,” his beta friend scolded, though he was still smiling gently. “Come on, up, before the Master catches you slacking again.”

“I'm up, I'm up,” Ryoga muttered.

He couldn't help glancing back at the door when it opened again. Another local farmer, in early for some reason. Ryoga plastered on a smile; it would never do to be anything but cheerfully polite for the Master's customers, even the locals. Especially the locals.

Three springs now he had felt like this, cut off from the man he loved for too many months by distance and snow. This season, when Ruka came back, Ryoga was going to beg the alpha to take him with him. He couldn't keep spending his winters here alone, praying for a letter that might never come, he just couldn't. He didn't even care if it meant spending most of the year traveling; as long as he was with Ruka, he could put up with anything, he was certain of it.

* * *

Two weeks passed with no news, no beloved alpha swinging Ryoga up in his arms and telling him how much he had missed him. Sakura petals floated through the air with each strong breeze and Ryoga still looked up at every chiming of the door's bell. Only more locals, coming in for a mug of the innkeeper's ale or a bowl of his mate's stew. Or almost-locals from other villages in the valley, coming to trade wares at their town's larger market.

“Still too soon, princess; you know this,” Masa scolded, giving Ryoga's hair another playful tug.

To be fair, Masa wasn't wrong, and Ryoga _did_ know it. This past winter had been especially harsh, and the talk of the common room was the mountain passes weren't yet safe for travelers. If the passes stayed snowed in too long, the caravan would have to rethink their usual travel plans, alter their usual spring route. Traders couldn't make money if they didn't make trades, and they couldn't trade if they didn't travel.

The longer he thought about it, the less he liked how this whole situation was making him feel. Worse was the dawning realization that it could be _months_ yet before he saw Ruka again. How was he supposed to live with that?

Then again, what choice did he have? He was omega; his place was to wait. And there were worse things in the world than having to wait in a cozy inn, allowed to work and even make some pocket money. He could wait.

He _would_ wait. For as long as it took.

But no one was going to make him _like_ it.

* * *

Spring was fully in bloom, bright colors in every garden. Stupid as it was, it made Ryoga miss Ruka even more. His favorite alpha ought to have been to town at least once by now, bringing Ryoga some small token as an apology for the long winter separation. But the talk had been right, the passes closed too long, and now Ryoga had only words on a page and no idea when he would see his beloved again.

Stopping beside a florist's stall, he sighed at the display of arrangements and sachets. Of course he had no way to send something as delicate as a flower to his beloved, even if he knew where to send it, which of course he did not. Ruka could be anywhere in the three kingdoms; there was no way for Ryoga to know. But the thought still stuck with him. A token, a reminder of his love and how much time had passed since last they had seen each other. If only….

“I have many items for a precious love,” the vendor said, offering a kindly, grandmotherly smile.

“Ah, no, that's quite all right, granny. I wouldn't know where to send it right now anyway.”

“Ah, then you need one of these,” the woman said, plucking a pale lavender sachet from a tray. “Will give you sweet dreams until he returns.”

“No, that's … thank you, but no,” he said, shaking his head and then hurrying away from her stall.

Great, now he missed Ruka _and_ he felt like a total jerk. Maybe he should go back and buy something after all? No, it would be too pathetic, especially this quickly. Tomorrow, maybe? Or maybe not. Maybe he'd make Masa do the shopping for the next few days instead.

* * *

Ryoga curled up on his futon, Ruka's latest letter held just under his nose. It barely held any of the alpha's scent anymore, just enough to fill Ryoga's heart with longing.

_To my precious Ryoga._

With an opening like that, how could Ryoga _not_ cling to every word that followed? True, the letter itself was a bit disappointing, only one comparison to a spring blossom and no word on when Ryoga would be able to see his alpha again. As a letter between lovers went, it was sadly unpoetic, with no word on when they might see each other again, no suggestion on how Ryoga might write him back, and little enough to suggest Ruka had spent much time thinking of him at all. 

Then again, his Ruka wasn't a poet, by any stretch. His writing style was simple, straightforward, just like the alpha himself. It was one of the things Ryoga appreciated about him – no need to wonder or guess, no games, just honest truth. Other people whispered it was a sign of weak breeding, low status, but Ryoga didn't care. He knew Ruka was a good man, a good alpha with a good heart. That was all that mattered to him.

With another wistful sigh, Ryoga carefully tucked away the precious letter, then told himself to get some sleep. The tone of the letter suggested weeks, but then he couldn't be sure how long this missive had taken to reach him. And the innkeeper wouldn't accept any excuses about poor sleep from him if he was less than his best in the morning.

* * *

The air felt heavy with unshed rain, as it often did in the wet season. The inn was nearly empty, so Ryoga sat in a shaded corner with a fan, trying to keep cool.

“Trade?” Masa offered, holding up the sheet he was re-hemming.

“Remember what happened the last time? I thought for sure the Master's mate was going to kill us both” Ryoga said, laughing as he waved the fan in his friend's direction for a bit instead.

“Ah, true, true. Eh, this works, too, I guess,” Masa said, laughing a little himself. “Just wish it wasn't so slow today.”

“Better than being so busy we can't hardly breathe,” Ryoga countered with a little huff. “Fire festival is in two weeks. We'll _all_ be wishing for the quieter days when the traders start piling in for that.”

“I suppose there's that, yeah,” Masa agreed.

The end of summer would be here all too soon, and still Ruka had yet to walk through that door even once. It wasn't normal; the caravan should have passed through at least twice by now. Ryoga was worried, to put it mildly. Had something happened to the entire caravan? Another letter had arrived, apologizing for not being able to see him again sooner, but Ruka hadn't actually explained anything in _that_ letter, either. Just a brief apology, a promise to explain later, and then nothing more. He was worried.

“Hey, it's going to be okay, yeah?” Masa said.

“Huh?”

“Look, I may be just a nose-blind beta,” his friend said with a wry grin. “But I've been your friend long enough to know that look on your face. I can tell you're worried, and I don't even blame you, but it's going to be okay, yeah?”

“You don't know that,” Ryoga protested, shaking his head. “It's been months since winter ended, it'll be autumn soon! What if something terrible has happened to him?”

“Okay, maybe, but that last letter is only a week old, so you know he was just fine at least that recently.”

“It took a week just to get here; it's older than that,” Ryoga grumbled. “Anyway, what's he doing that he hasn't been through here even once all summer? It's not normal. Like the gods are trying to keep us apart for some reason.”

“What does he say?” Masa asked, a worried frown creasing his brow.

“Nothing about why he hasn't come back yet, just that he misses me and hopes to be able to see me again soon,” Ryoga said with a heavy sigh. “But nothing to say _when_ he'll be here. I just don't understand.”

“Well, it's not like he's actually in charge of these things, Ryoga,” Masa countered, setting down his hemming with a sigh of his own. “He has a boss like anyone else, you know. I'm sure he'll be here as soon as he's able. You _know_ how much he cares about you. Honestly, I'm shocked he hasn't asked you to be his mate yet. The market grannies say it's a sign of poor character, you know, flirting with an omega for so long and not even once hinting about a mating.”

“I … I think he's afraid to,” Ryoga said, sighing again. “It's funny, right? Who's ever heard of an alpha being scared of an omega? I swear, I dropped _so many_ hints last summer and then … nothing. Maybe I need to just flat out ask this time?”

“Sounds like it,” Masa said, grinning. “Or do you need me to do it for you~?”

“Don't you _dare_!” Ryoga squeaked, his whole face heating up with embarrassment. “It's bad enough _I_ might have to confront him, if you did it for me, that would just be too pathetic!”

“Oh fine, spoil my fun, you brat” Masa teased, grinning. “But then you have to actually _say something_ about it when he gets here.”

“ _If_ he gets here.”

“He'll be back for you, Ryoga, of course he will,” Masa said, all humor dropping out of his tone and scent as he frowned and reached out to squeeze his hand. “Ryoga, of _course_ he'll come back. He might be an idiot sometimes, I'll grant that, but he's an idiot who loves you. He'll be back for you. You'll see.”

Ryoga huffed a little, but … he really did want to believe.

* * *

Ryoga woke to someone roughly shaking his shoulder. Tired and groggy, he swiped at the beta shaking him until he recognized Masa's voice.

“… Masa?”

“About time, princess,” his friend said with a little huff, but he was clearly trying not to laugh.

“What time … I was sleeping, dammit.”

“Yeah, I know, but a caravan pulled in just now, and –.”

Masa was still talking, but Ryoga was already jumping out of his bed to get dressed. Night arrivals were rare, but not so rare that Masa would normally wake him up for it. Unless, of course, the caravan was Ruka's and the alpha was downstairs waiting for him.

“Ryoga, wait!”

Ryoga was already in the hall before Masa caught him, gripping his arm so hard Ryoga almost yelped.

“Ryoga, wait, there's something –.”

“It's all right. I'll tell him.”

The intrusion of another voice, one Ryoga didn't know, made him flinch. An unfamiliar voice, unfamiliar scent, and when he looked up, there was an unfamiliar alpha standing in the hallway, precisely where he didn't belong. 

“You're Ryoga, the one my Rupon's been sweet on, ne?”

“Y-yes, alpha,” he stammered, suddenly worried.

He swallowed reflexively and tried to bury his nerves. Why was this alpha even asking? Who was he? And what did he mean by “his” Ruka? Since when was his alpha interested in other alphas?

“He's been grumbling all summer about not getting to see you,” the unfamiliar alpha said with a little knowing smirk. “He's probably still grumbling because he's not downstairs right now.”

“W-what? Why?! I –.”

“Whoa, whoa, calm down now,” the alpha said, reaching out for Ryoga a moment, then hesitating and stepping back. “That's why I came up here. We had some trouble this summer that meant he couldn't make this last trip. But he insisted I give this to you as soon as we got here.”

Ryoga could feel himself shivering as the alpha handed him a sealed scroll. Another letter instead of his alpha. A part of him just wanted to scream, to tear out his own hair in frustration. Last trip meant there was no chance of seeing his Ruka until _next_ spring? He was going to break.

“W-why … why isn't he here?” he asked at last, still shivering.

“There was an accident with one of the teams,” Jui said, his demeanor surprisingly gentle. “Rupon's fine, but he broke his leg very badly. The doctors insist he mustn't travel any distance until next spring, if even that soon.”

The little cry escaped Ryoga's throat, his knees giving out and sending him crashing to the floor. It had already been so long since he had last seen his beloved, and now he had to wait even _longer_? It wasn't fair! Ruka would forget all about him at this rate!

“Ryoga!”

“Such dramatics,” the alpha scoffed a little before crouching down to tap the letter still in Ryoga's hands. “If you'd just read this, you'd understand how unnecessary this is. It's a bit unorthodox, yes, but we came here last because he insisted I bring you home with us.”

“He … he did?”

“Made me swear a blood oath I would bring you home to him, no matter what,” the unfamiliar alpha said, holding up his hand to show the nearly healed oath mark. “He explains everything in the letter; you really should read it.”

“I-I … y-yes, alpha. Thank you, alpha,” Ryoga mumbled, swiping at his tears with his sleeve. “S-sorry for … for being so stupid.”

“He misses you just as much, you know,” the alpha said, amusement sparkling in his scent. “Anyway, we're staying here a couple of days, time for you to say your goodbyes and such. But really … read the letter. Good night.”

Ryoga mumbled what he hoped was an appropriate response, sniffling a little. He felt more than a little stupid, especially with Masa still standing there. A beat and then his friend was hoisting him back up to his feet.

“Well come on then, back to bed. Or, well, back to our room so you can read the letter and then tell me all the cute things he said and _then_ sleep, yeah?”

“Okay but when have I _ever_ shared something from one of Ruka's letters with you?” Ryoga huffed, rolling his eyes. “And anyway, he's not exactly the poetic type. I'm sure this one will be as dry as all the rest.”

“He's asking you to leave everything you've ever known to come be his mate. If the man can't get at least a _little_ poetic about that, then I say you should dump his ass!” Masa countered with a firm huff. “What kind of civilized alpha can't at least quote someone _else's_ poetry?”

“The kind who doesn't think in those terms?”

“You know what I mean,” Masa said, giving Ryoga another look.

Once they were back in their room, Ryoga plopped down beside their side table, grateful for the light of a full moon and their little lamp. To his surprise, Masa was right – this letter was different. Elegant characters flowed like falling rain across the pages as Ruka apologized for not being there himself, for making him wait so long for nothing. Words of devotion like Ryoga had never read before as Ruka professed his deep and abiding love for him. 

By the time he reached the end of the letter and Ruka's fervent hope that he would agree to come be his mate, however, a sneaking suspicion had started to form in the back of his mind.

“That alpha in the hall, do you know him?”

“Don't you?” Masa countered, surprised. “That was Jui-sama, the owner of the trading company Ruka works for, silly goose. Wow, you really _have_ only had eyes for your alpha, haven't you?”

Ryoga blushed hard at that, but it was the truth; when Ruka was in the room, Ryoga doubted even a god could have torn his attention away from his favorite alpha. Something that had gotten him in trouble and nearly gotten his alpha banned from the inn's common room in previous years.

“Anyway, don't think I haven't noticed how long that letter was,” Masa said, smirking. “Are you still going to tell me he didn't say anything poetic or especially beautiful this time either?”

“Well … no, but … I don't think he wrote this,” Ryoga confessed, feeling guilty for saying such a thing. “It's nothing like what he usually writes. Between that and Jui-sama knowing all about it … I think Jui-sama wrote a lot of this. Or at least told Rupon what to say.”

“Is that such a bad thing?”

“I … I don't know. What if it means Rupon doesn't actually mean any of it?”

“Oh come _on_ ,” Masa said, rolling his eyes. “Ruka is utterly in love with you. If anything, I'd say his getting Jui-sama to help him just goes to show how determined he is to convince you to accept him as your alpha. Dammit, I'm so jealous of you now. Huh. Bet you never thought you'd hear someone say that.”

Ryoga smiled a little; Masa was right, he never would have thought he would ever hear someone say they were jealous of him, an omega. And … the beta was probably right about Ruka's feelings, about why this letter was so different, too. He could only imagine how frustrated the alpha had to be feeling, not being able to come himself. This letter was so different … but the more he thought about it, the more he could see the sense in what Masa had suggested. Instead of coming to court him properly, Ruka was having to put everything into a letter and then trust his boss – his friend? – to deliver that letter, those feelings safely to Ryoga.

To be honest, a part of him was terrified. As much as he had spent the whole of spring and summer dreaming of Ruka coming for him and asking him to be his mate, the thought of _actually leaving_ genuinely scared him. This inn had been Ryoga's life for years now. He didn't even know the name of Ruka's home city or what would happen when Ruka was well enough to resume his travels. Would he be allowed to travel with them? Or would he be expected to stay behind, all alone in a foreign city?

“You _are_ going to accept him as your alpha, right?”

“What? Of course! I just….”

Ryoga looked around the tiny room he shared with Masa, struggling to find the right words. It wasn't like he was going to miss being a bar maid or spending half his time dodging handsy customers. But that didn't change the part where leaving meant stepping into a giant unknown and that … that was scary.

“You'll be fine, you know,” Masa soothed. “Ruka will make sure of it, you'll see. And you better make sure he brings you home now and again to visit!”

“I … I'm not sure that's something I can make him do, but….”

“Well if he gets all stupid and doesn't bring you with him next season, trust me, I'll give him an earful and then some,” Masa promised, hugging Ryoga tightly. “Now come on, bed. Master is going to expect us both to work a full day tomorrow, I can guarantee it, especially if the caravan isn't leaving for a couple of days yet.”

“Y-yeah, you're right,” he mumbled, laughing a little.

Ryoga still might not know how he felt about leaving, but he knew for sure he couldn't stay. His alpha was waiting.


End file.
